Surface Steerable Drilling Control for Rotary BHA Trajectory Convergence
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current drilling technologies face challenges in accurately and efficiently drilling complex boreholes due to directional drilling complexities, leading to increased costs and potential long-term output reductions from drilling errors.
Innovation Solution
A surface steerable drilling system that utilizes a centralized database to collect and analyze geological and drilling data, providing real-time feedback and control to an on-site controller to optimize drilling operations, improve decision-making, and minimize errors through advanced data processing and automated adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If directional drilling is used to drill complex boreholes, then the ability to reach distant targets and access complex formations is improved, but the complexity of drilling operations and the risk of errors increase
Solution Approach 1:
The drilling system is divided into multiple independent components: a surface controller that manages overall operations, downhole steering devices that control borehole direction, and separate drilling mechanisms. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining the ability to drill complex directional boreholes.
Solution Approach 2:
The surface controller pre-calculates the desired borehole trajectory and determines steering commands before they are sent to the downhole devices. By performing planning and computation actions in advance at the surface, the system reduces real-time operational complexity and minimizes the risk of drilling errors.
2Ease of operation
If manual drilling control is used, then operational flexibility is maintained, but human error increases and drilling precision decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates downhole sensors that continuously monitor borehole position, steering device status, and drilling conditions. This real-time feedback is transmitted to the surface controller, which automatically adjusts steering commands to maintain precise trajectory control, eliminating human error while preserving operational flexibility through programmable parameters.
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical control of drilling direction is replaced with an automated electronic control system that uses computer algorithms to calculate steering commands and actuate downhole steering devices. This substitution dramatically improves drilling precision while maintaining ease of operation through user-friendly interfaces.
3Reliability
If real-time data processing and automated control are implemented, then drilling precision and error reduction are improved, but system complexity and initial costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The surface controller is designed as a multi-functional system that performs trajectory calculation, real-time data processing, steering command generation, and monitoring functions in a single integrated unit. This universality improves reliability by centralizing control while managing complexity through integrated design rather than multiple separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated control system continuously monitors drilling parameters and self-adjusts steering commands without human intervention, maintaining precise borehole trajectory. This self-service capability improves reliability by eliminating human error while the modular architecture manages system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for drilling, comprising receiving, by a surface steerable system coupled to a drilling rig, BHA information from a rotary steerable bottom hole assembly (BHA) located in a borehole, calculating, by the surface steerable system, torsional and spatial forces acting on the rotary steerable BHA at a first location of the rotary steerable BHA with respect to a target drilling path responsive to the BHA information, calculating, by the surface steerable system, a first vector to create a convergence path from the first location of the rotary steerable BHA to the target drilling path that accounts for the torsional and the spatial forces acting on the rotary steerable BHA, causing, by the surface steerable system, at least one drilling parameter to be modified in order to alter a drilling direction of the rotary steerable BHA based on the calculated first vector, transmitting the at least one drilling parameter to the drilling rig to target the rotary steerable BHA in accordance with the first vector, and drilling the borehole using the rotary steerable BHA in response to the at least one drilling parameter.